Microsoft Eyes Ad-Supported Gaming Model for Xbox Consoles

Microsoft has filed a patent for an ad-supported gaming model that would allow users to rent games on Xbox consoles, further fueling concerns about the company's aggressive push for profit.

The patent, titled 'contextually aware management of interactive software application access,' describes a process where the operating system pauses gameplay and presents an advertisement before granting the user temporary access to the game.

According to the patent documentation, this credit would grant users access to the game for a limited amount of time, ranging from 15 minutes to an hour. This comes at a time when Xbox Game Pass has been dealing with financial troubles, including recently limiting playtime on Xbox Cloud Gaming to just 15 hours a month for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.

While there is no indication that this technology will be implemented, it is not hard to imagine an ad-supported tier where users must watch an advertisement every 15 minutes to continue playing their game.